WILMINGTON, DE – Deputy Attorneys General within the Delaware Department of Justice had several significant recent successes.
Sentencing success:
Despite 18 months passing from time of incident until an arrest, and numerous complicating matters in the case, Deputy Attorneys General Jamie McCloskey and Colleen Norris secured a prison sentence for Myron Parker, 33, of Newark. Parker pled guilty to criminally negligent homicide in January, for the October 2012 stabbing of Michael Leger in the Glasgow Court Trailer Park, after Leger confronted Parker about driving through the neighborhood without using headlights where children were playing. After Parker refused to name a second person involved in the stabbing, Superior Court Judge Fred Silverman imposed the maximum sentence of eight years in prison, followed by probation. Silverman told Parker his refusal to provide the information was cruel to the victim’s family, and made his apology ring untrue.
Deputy Attorney General Dan McBride secured a six-year prison sentence, followed by probation, against Quentin Muldrow, 23, of Wilmington for multiple home burglaries. In September 2013, Muldrow broke into units in the Allendale Apartment complex in Newark, and the Rockwood Apartments in Bear. Muldrow has prior burglary convictions in the New Castle County Superior Court.
Deputy Attorney General Mark Denney secured a sentence against Rakeem “Dink” Mills, 26, of Wilmington, for conspiracy to commit criminal racketeering. Mills, who conspired to distribute heroin, launder money, and threaten violence while operating a drug trafficking organization, will serve a concurrent 2 years of probation to his existing 20 year jail sentence on weapons charges.
Deputy Attorneys General Cynthia Faraone and Periann Doko secured a 15-year prison sentence for Kenneth Mayo, 34, of Wilmington for possession of a firearm by a person prohibited. In September 2014, police received a tip that Mayo had a gun. Officers found Mayo sitting on the steps of a home on East 24th Street in Wilmington, with a gun tucked in his waistband.
Deputy Attorneys General Barzilai Axelrod and John Downs secured a sentence against 30-year-old Joshua Stephenson of Wilmington. In January, Stephenson was convicted in connection with the fatal shooting of his sister’s boyfriend, while Stephenson’s six-year-old nephew was in the home, on Christmas Eve 2012. Stephenson was sentenced to life in prison for second degree murder, an additional 10 years for possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony, 10 years for possession of a firearm by a person prohibited, and 1 additional year, suspended for 1 year probation for endangering the welfare of a child.
Deputy Attorney General Matthew Frawley secured a six-year prison sentence for Ron Matthews, 54, of Newport for drug dealing. Officers with the New Castle County Police Department conducted direct undercover buys from Matthews on two separate occasions in October 2013. Matthews pled guilty to two counts of delivering heroin, and was sentenced as a habitual offender.
Deputy Attorney General Timothy Maguire secured a sentence against Steven Garnett, 44, of Gainesville, Georgia. In May 2013, Garnett broke into an occupied Newark home at night, and stole property from inside. Garnett was sentenced as a habitual offender to eight years in prison. Garnett was also sentenced to misdemeanor theft as part of the plea and was sentenced to 1 year in prison, suspended for 12 months work release, suspended after 6 months for probation for the balance.
Trial success:
Deputy Attorney General Jamie McCloskey secured a conviction against Stephen Thomas, 24, of Wilmington, for aggravated menacing, and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony. During a traffic stop in August 2014, Thomas pointed a gun at an officer. He dropped the gun, which police determined had recently been fired. Thomas faces at least 3 years in prison, and up to 30 years, when sentenced later this year.
Deputy Attorneys General John Downs and Josette Manning secured a guilty verdict for three counts of manslaughter against 29-year-old Travis Jones of Newark. Jones’s girlfriend and two children died in a fire in their home in October 2010. Jones will face 2 to 25 years in prison on each count when he is sentenced in September.
Resolution success:
Deputy Attorney General Timothy Maguire secured a guilty plea to second degree burglary from 23-year-old Jason Hinkle of Newark. In November 2014, Hinkle broke into a home in the unit block of Boyds Valley Drive in Newark, and stole several items, including jewelry and an iPad. Hinkle is scheduled for sentencing in September.
Deputy Attorney General Phillip Casale secured guilty pleas to first degree robbery and second degree conspiracy from Nicholas Ray, 17, of Delaware City. Along with another person, Ray robbed the 7-11 store in the 100 block of Four Seasons Parkway in Newark in December 2014. Ray pointed what appeared to be a shotgun at the clerk, and the pair took $57 and merchandise from the store. Deputy Attorney General Diana Dunn secured a plea from 50-year-old Cayetano Hernandez-Dominguez of Wilmington for sexual solicitation of a child. Hernandez-Dominguez offered an 11-year old girl $30 to $40 for sex. Hernandez-Dominguez faces 2 to 25 years in prison when sentenced in September.